Prince William's Behavior Prior To Kate Middleton's Sad Health News Makes So Much Sense Now

Prior to Kate Middleton confirming to the world on March 22, 2024, that she had been diagnosed with cancer, there was a whole lot of speculation about what was really happening behind closed royal doors. There was plenty of chatter suggesting that the marriage of Catherine, Princes of Wales and William, Prince of Wales may have been in trouble (those Rose Hanbury affair rumors, which have since been denied, certainly didn't help that). And there was even mounting speculation about why the world hadn't seen the royal couple's children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis, in a while.

Now, the world has learned the truth about what Kate has really been doing, with a lot of the puzzle pieces involving the royals' behavior in the weeks prior to her sharing the news fitting together and making a lot more sense. That includes Prince William's uncharacteristic actions. Royal watchers may remember that William made the surprising move to skip out on attending a memorial service for King Constantine of Greece, his godfather, on February 27 — and now we know that it's because he was dealing with the shocking news of his wife's cancer diagnosis.

Prince William's absence from the Windsor Castle event for King Constantine of Greece really had people talking, mainly because The Daily Mail reported that William was set to have an important role at the event. The royal was actually expected to do a reading, though the honor was instead taken over by King Constantine's son, Crown Prince Pavlos. William wasn't present at all because, according to Page Six, the royals had not long found out about Kate Middleton's cancer diagnosis. In her Instagram video announcing her upsetting health issues, Kate confirmed that she had started undergoing chemotherapy in late February, which lines up with when William was expected to attend the royal event.

At the time, People confirmed that William had pulled out of the memorial due to an undisclosed reason, which was simply described back then as a "personal matter." Though the exact reason wasn't shared until now, it was confirmed in February that it had nothing to do with William's dad, King Charles, who had shared his own sad cancer diagnosis a few days earlier.

Although the royals have a history of not speaking out about press rumors, be they true or false, Kate Middleton's social media video also makes it clear why Prince William never released an official statement about his wife amid all the speculation. It seems he was more than likely waiting until his wife felt comfortable speaking out.

Something William continued to do following Kate's diagnosis is make a handful of public appearances, but those who saw him before the news was made public have shared how he stayed quiet about Kate. Tessy Ojo, the chief executive of the Diana Award (which honors William and Harry, Duke of Sussex's mom, Princess Diana), interacted with William at the annual Diana Award event on March 14, 2024, and shared how his behavior made a lot more sense in the wake of Kate's video. 

"He said that it was refreshing to hear all the amazing things the young people were doing. In the context now, knowing he was dealing with so much and that he was in a place where there was such positivity, it was refreshing," Ojo told People, noting William didn't speak to him about Kate. "When you're dealing with such bad news, you need hope and positivity, and the event was all about that." Now we know William wasn't keeping schtum about Kate for suspicious reasons — he was simply waiting for her to address the world.